Citi Bank Interview Preparation Guide

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I worked as a financial analyst. My duties were to reconcile accounts, implement annual systems, review accounts. In the implementation of the system we have to deal with many global customers. We have to do reports, provide a kind of customer service to them and also liaise between the technology department and the operation departments.

My example was from a previous experience where the firm was on the brink of making massive losses due to delay in supply of raw materials from suppliers but my pro-activeness and leadership ability helped salvage the situation. I stayed close to the supplier’s factory, which was 600 kilometers away, for close to 2 weeks to ensure that our firm’s goods were given high priority. Afterwards, I re-planned the project from that situation to ensure timely delivery and prevented order cancellation from the client.

In asking bank interview questions about your attention to detail and accuracy the interviewer wants to know if you are able to accurately carry out your tasks with close attention to all aspects of your work.

Provide specific examples of how you check your outputs for accuracy and completeness and what you do if you find a mistake.

Banking sector has successfully been adding new products and innovative services to its basket of products being offered to retail customer and institutional customers. I think the banking sector will keep its goal to accelerate the growth. Secondly each bank would like to optimize its costs of marketing and distribution so as to keep its overheads low without effecting its reach or quality of services.

With regards to changes, I feel that there would be marketing strategy which would be “socially engaging”. The leading banks would adopt “Intelligent Multichannel” approach over their brick and mortar branch banking.

As you're interested in a career in banking, plenty of reasons should spring to mind, and if they don't you should consider choosing another path!

Often students are attracted to the intellectual challenges and high-profile nature of the dealings of the finance world, the fast pace of the work here, and the rewards on offer, all of which are very valid reasons for applying to a bank.

But they're also valid reasons for applying for jobs in other parts of the finance world, so make sure you explain why you want a job at a bank, and in your chosen area in particular. Perhaps you're keen for the broad and deep financial training and prestigious experience that only a leading bank can offer?

Your interviewers may also ask if anything puts you off banking. If you have any real doubts, an interview is not the place to air them, but it's a great idea to show that you've considered the difficulties the industry is currently going through before choosing to make an application.

Banks provide their clients with advice, assistance in arranging financing, and other services, such as access to trading on the markets, investment management, and risk reduction. Their main source of revenue is the fees they charge their clients for these services.

Some banks have departments which invest or trade the bank's own money to generate returns, though the extent to which they can do so has become more limited in recent years.

This is your opportunity to shine. Do your homework and research the bank before your interview. Make a list of three or four reasons why this is the right bank for you.

Customer service skills are essential for any frontline banking job. Your example should display good listening skills, the ability to clarify the customer's needs and to respond with patience and empathy.

Show how you develop positive customer relationships by trying to meet the customer's expectations and taking responsibility for the customer's satisfaction.

Well it was really good. They are really flexible. They offer working from home which is really good. They offer to handle different schedules. For example, from 9 to 5, from 9 to 6. You don’t have to have exact schedule. They are really flexible with the hours and also work from home which is something that many people like.

Professional, it has to be professional.

My perception is that there will be two different noticeable trends. In developed nations, the trend will be more towards digitization of products using mobile technology based on the tech savvy new generation that is emerging. In the developing nations, traditional banking will be more prevalent but will be highly volume based because every year more and more people are entering the middle-class bracket and can afford banking products.

Integrity and honesty are core to a banking job. Focus on taking immediate action and using the right resources to deal with the problem. Emphasize your commitment to adhering to company policies and regulations. Your judgment is also under scrutiny here so describe your motivation to take action.

Banking sector has to achieve competitive differentiation; banks must define a clear strategy and customer proposition, and then develop the capabilities to reach these goals. Accenture recommends that banks should:

Establish an overall strategy that includes the appropriate capability mix and investment choices.
Develop an appropriate sourcing strategy to enable scale and deliver required capabilities at higher speed.
By following this next-generation approach, banks can position for growth, improve performance and achieve a competitive advantage—in the near- and long-term.

The advantage of equity finance for a company - raising money by selling shares - is that this money does not have to be repaid. However, new shareholders usually get to have a say in how the company is run.

Despite these rights, equity is often seen as a risky choice for investors as they will lose all their money if the company doesn't prosper. If it does well, on the other hand, they may see their stake multiply in value many times over.

Debt finance - money raised through loans - must be repaid eventually by a company, usually with interest, but lenders won't be able to exert as much influence as shareholders over how the company does business.

The debt of a reliable company is usually seen as a safe investment, but fixed repayment schedules means that there are few opportunities for large returns.

We are living in a digital age, where everyday technological innovations our style of living, doing the business and even the way we do a commercial transaction. The banks will have to catch up and offer
(a) Multi Channel Optimization
(b) Digital Distribution and most importantly
(c) Effective Sales Efforts.

Staying calm under pressure is a key requirement of working in the front line of a bank. Your ability to maintain performance under stress and to use appropriate coping techniques should be demonstrated.

Discuss the resources you use to meet the different work demands including prioritizing, planning, scheduling and asking for assistance when appropriate.

You might initially think that if you haven't done a degree in finance or economics you haven't got very much to offer an investment bank, but you'd be wrong.

Any numerate discipline will have given you a mathematical toolkit that will come in useful in technical banking work, and any good degree proves that you're intelligent, hardworking, and effective under pressure.

Extra-curricular activities may have given you a wealth of other skills that are valuable at an investment bank, such as being able to juggle a number of commitments and work with others.

You are often required to display diplomacy and tact with customers in a banking environment. Provide an example of a challenging situation where you had to handle the customer carefully and with discretion. Discuss how you used your sensitivity and communication skills to manage the situation.

In a market where the value of assets is falling, known as a bear market, traders might consider taking short positions, that is, borrowing assets they don't own, selling them, and buying them back to return them at a later date when their price has fallen.

Meanwhile, those working in asset management or M&A might consider, or advise clients to consider, snapping up undervalued assets.

Banking means dealing with a variety of people. The ability to adjust to the customer and the situation is an important job requirement. Your example should clearly indicate how you changed your communication style to meet the customer's needs.